Jenkins expecting tough test with PI

4 November 2006 18:12

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New Wales coach Gareth Jenkins was full of admiration for the way his side dug deep to squeeze a draw against the Wallabies, but he had even more praise for the crowd.

"The way they supported their team was fantastic," said Jenkins, who was celebrating his first game in charge of Wales at the Millennium Stadium. There were times when the hairs on the back of my neck were standing on end when the crowd were singing. They were fantastic and they inspired their team."

"We will need the same and more against the Pacific Islands next week because they have brought a star-studded team with them. There is no doubt they have come to win and it is going to be an interesting and tough challenge for us."

"I think we gave the fans fantastic value for their money today and we will look to do exactly the same for the rest of the Invesco Perpetual Series. I think a draw was a fair result in the end. Our main problem was that we simply didn't touch the ball for the first 20 minutes."

"We showed good courage and determination to come back into the game. When Martyn Williams scored his try I thought we might have gone on and won the game, yet in those last 15 minutes we were hanging on."

"The Aussies put us under the cosh in the first quarter and we lost the battle for territory. We were forced to defend in that time and we didn't do it all that well. But the lessons we have learned today will help us to move forward. We are taking the series step by step, game by game. We know we will have to improve and that will be the aim."

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